By Tom Baker, PhD Italian candidate, School of Modern Languages

In the first of a new series spotlighting PGR summer internship projects, PhD Italian candidate Tom Baker tells us about working with Professor John Foot on the Italian terrorist trials of the 1970s and 80s. Together, they created a database of trials mapping the activity of armed Left-wing groups who sought to overthrow the Italian state.

I undertook a PGR internship under the supervision of Professor John Foot during the summer of 2024. We worked together over the course of six weeks researching and documenting the trials of those accused of acts and affiliations in relation to ‘Red’ terrorism (perpetrated by armed Left-wing groups) in Italy during the ‘Years of Lead’. The ‘Years of Lead’, from roughly the 1970s through until the mid-1980s, was a period of societal unrest, with both Left- and Right-wing armed groups carrying out targeted assassinations, kidnappings, robberies, opportunistic shootings and bombings. After a terrorist act, it was often unclear which group was responsible, let alone which individuals within the group were involved. Thousands of such incidents required thorough investigation and unravelling, much like the complex networks of the terrorist groups themselves.

There were many changes to Italian law to overcome terrorism in Italy. Changes to procedures, how long and where an individual could be detained, a tightening of prison facilities (to arrest the rash of breakouts) and special bomb proof court rooms with cages constructed. The starting point for our research begins after a notice for arrest was issued. Using digital archives of trial material, newspaper archives, books, interviews and other sources we began to piece together the complex tapestry of the Italian state’s attempt to prosecute the armed Leftist groups.

The project is an important one, as our research shows there exists no complete database of the hundreds of trials of accused Leftist terrorists in Italy. The fact that we focused on red terror as opposed to both red and black (Right) terror significantly focused the research, as to attempt both would dilute the project given the time constraints. As for a timespan, we decided on 1974 – marked by the arrest of the historical leadership of the Brigate Rosse (Red Brigades), the largest Left terror group during the Years of Lead – to 1994, when the Autonomia Maxi trial concluded. This trial was part of a broader legal process that began in 1979 and involved individuals accused of being the ideologues behind left-wing terrorism. A maxi trial, now more familiar with Mafia trials, is a good example of the changing procedures in judicial process during the Years of Lead. Several hundred people would be tried together under extreme levels of security. This security was necessary as several trials were postponed as Left-wing terrorists targeted and killed judges to halt the prosecution of their comrades and the revolution. Even today, trials of some Left-wing terrorists in Italy remain unheard, as the Italian state continues to seek extradition of individuals believed to be responsible.

Given the time constraints we faced and the sheer volume of material we decided it was best that I first focus on listing where this trial material can be found, so this project has an easy access point for continuity. Following this I researched individual acts of terrorism, read newspaper archives (il Manifesto, Il Messaggero, La Repubblica, Corriere della Sera) for police appeals and reports, the arrested suspects and their subsequent trials. From here, I would note the dates of the trial, in which court the trial took place, who the judges were and the outcome to build the database. Some individuals, particularly those most active in their organisations, appeared in court over a dozen times. Their sentences would often change, there were appeals, overturned convictions and a change to their status – such as benefitting from a law passed in this period for dissociation with armed struggle leading to a much lighter sentence.

On a personal note, starting an exciting project from scratch has helped me further develop my research skills and I have enjoyed the opportunity of working closely with my supervisor. We hope that this research will be a starting point in the complex process of collating the terror trials in Italy, bringing together the fragmented yet interconnected legal processes which ultimately ended in success for the state.

Tom Baker is a PhD candidate in the School of Modern Languages with research interests in labour history, deindustrialisation, transformation of work, social movements and oral history. To find out more about the project and database created with Professor John Foot, contact ks21162@bristol.ac.uk. To read more PGR summer internship projects, visit Arts Matter.